Tales From the Full Moon Diner
by Dokuhan
Summary: AKA "That AU where the pack runs a diner and have not-so-zany adventures". A collection of oneshots. Sterek, Scott/Allison/Isaac, Lydia/Jackson. Diner AU.


It started during one of their family dinners, a few weeks into Cora's senior year of high school.

Laura had been acting kind of off the whole day, distant and far from her usual self. She sat in her chair next to Uncle Peter and across from Derek, picking at her steak and moving her rice around the plate, all while slouched over.

Cora frowned and kicked her leg under the table, "Hey, what's with the face?"

With a harsh sigh and a glare Laura sat up, putting her fork down on the table, "Just thinking…"

"About?"

She looked down at her plate with an unsure expression, like she wasn't sure if she really wanted to say what she was thinking about - which was _very _strange, because out of the three of them Laura was the one that always had something to say. (With Cora as an extremely close second, and Derek being the only one to keep mostly to himself.)

Derek sipped his beer and kept his head down, silently hoping that the conversation would just trail off from there. He'd been in charge of making dinner that night, the only time he ever got to flex his culinary skills since college.

Uncle Peter just had to push it though, with a smarmy smile as he reached over the table to take her hand, "Laura, what are you thinking about?"

Laura looked up and simply said, "I want to reopen the restaurant."

Derek dropped his bottle on the table.

* * *

The Full Moon Diner had been a staple in Beacon Hills for almost as long as the town had existed. The Hale family had always been a big deal in Beacon County, since they owned a large plot of land out in the woods, but the diner had been what put their names in the 30's.

For decades, the diner had been the goto place for amazing food at a good price. By the 80's and 90's it also became known for it's "retro" atmosphere, with his 40's style and class - an image everyone that worked there happily embraced. And things were great, no problems whatsoever.

Until the fire.

It was a late night in 2005, and Talia and Roger Hale had been the only ones at the Full Moon during closing time, probably counting receipts, cleaning up, whatever they needed to finish up the day. Before anybody knew it, the diner was up in flames, killing the two of them instantly.

Laura, Derek, and Cora had been at home, safe in their beds.

At first everyone had thought it was an accident, something wrong with a stove or the grease trap, or the electricity. An occupational hazard in an old building that left two people dead and three children orphaned.

But then it had come to light that the Full Moon Diner had just gone through an inspection the week before, and passed with flying colors. Talia's younger brother, Peter, an ad executive that lived in Sacramento but moved up to Beacon Hills to take care of the kids, insisted that she and Roger would never let customers into a building that they thought was unsafe. When asked why he never had a part in the diner, Peter just scoffed and said that after years of working with his parents and Talia as a teenager that he decided food service wasn't his forte.

So the investigation began, and all signs pointed to arson.

Peter Hale had actually been the first suspect, after people who knew him back when he was younger said that he had always been very jealous of Talia. But receipts put him in Sacramento during the fire, and right after - not enough time to drive back from Beacon Hills. When questioned, Peter had been appalled - saying he had more to lose with the diner gone that he could earn with it gone. He showed the police paperwork that proved he and Talia had both inherited the Full Moon after their mother died, not to mention his firm did all the advertising and PR. He was making a lot of money because of the diner, more than he could make from some "little insurance policy".

There was a lot of evidence suggesting that Kate Argent, a new teacher at the high school, played some role in the fire, but the police couldn't find the evidence to connect all the dots. Ms. Argent insisted that she had been nowhere near the Full Moon when the fire happened, that she had been home in her apartment and turned in early because there was school the next day.

Her alibi was weak, and the police couldn't find what they needed to continue - her connection to the Hales and her motive.

Derek Hale became that key.

Deputy John Stilinski had been the one on duty when Laura and Derek showed up at the station, holding hands and looking years older than 18 and 16. John felt terrible for them, their younger sister was the same age as his own son and was taking the deaths of her parents very hard, and he could only imagine the two of them felt the same way.

He brought them over to his desk when they asked to speak to someone right away, thinking that they were just checking on the case, but what he got instead was going to completely turn what they did know around.

Kate Argent had been pursuing a sexual relationship with Derek since the start of the school year.

Derek explained, his voice quaking and eyes wide, that Kate had insisted on tutoring him in English even though it was his second best subject. It had started out innocently, with subtle touches and a few kisses, but quickly became more intense - like he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to (which he kind of didn't, because he was 16 and an older woman was interested in him). All the while she would ask him strange questions about his family and the diner, asking weird things like if the name had anything to do with their background and mundane things like how late they stayed open.

"It's all my fault." Derek had said, shoulders shaking and voice cracking, "I'm the reason they're dead. I killed them." Suddenly he wasn't this big, strong high school student, but a scared child carrying the weight of his parents' deaths on his shoulders.

Laura looked furious at that and threw her arms around her brother, "No! Don't you dare think that, it's all that bitch's fault. Don't you dare blame yourself, Derek." She gave John and intense look, "She did it, we want her locked up for this!"

And Laura got her wish. After Derek's bit of information, the pieces came together easily.

Argent sang like a canary when she was arrested, and landed herself right in the crazy house. She claimed that she had burned down the Hales' diner because she had reason to believe they were dangerous werewolves, of all things.

Nothing was ever going to bring Talia and Roger back, but it was a start for the four of them to pull their lives back together.

Laura went to college, coming home during the weekends to be with what was left with her family and eventually got a degree in accounting. Derek managed to get through high school, with a lot of therapy and never really acted the same way. He went to culinary school after graduation, but wound up working in a garage when he couldn't find a job he was happy with. Cora made it through fourth grade, and moved through the rest of school easily.

And Peter moved his firm to Redding, because now he had three kids to take care of and he couldn't do a disservice to his older sister by leaving them alone.

* * *

Seven years later though, the four of them were sitting at the dining room table - caught somewhere between feeling like old wounds had been opened and a flame of excitement.

Peter frowned a little, "You want to reopen it?"

Laura pushed her hair behind her ear, "I've just been thinking about it a lot lately…I passed the lot when I was walking back to the car from the hair salon, and I saw that the boutique that used to be next door is up for sale so…" she shrugged, "If we bought both we could probably make the building a little bigger, or at least add to the dining area."

"Do we even own the spot anymore?" Cora asked

"We never sold it after the fire," Derek muttered, sopping up beer from the table cloth, "we just fenced it."

"See! That's even more of a reason, then. We still own the location and I'm sure the other store isn't going for that much, we could do this if we really put the work in."

"Laura, that's all well and good…" Peter reached over the table and spooned some more rice onto his plate, "but what about everything else? Employees? Supplies?"

"Mom kept all of her records here at the house, so we can use those to find suppliers. And we'll hire people! I can handle the accounting, Cora could wait tables - don't give me that look, I did it in high school and you will too - and Derek is an amazing cook." She crossed her arms and gave them all a serious look, "We can do this, for Mom and Dad. Please, can we at least see if it's possible?"

It was hard not to say yes to Laura.

* * *

It took some time, but by March they were open for business. Painfully short-staffed, with only Derek in the kitchen most of the day, a handful of middle aged women (and Cora) playing both waitresses and hostesses, and a couple of bussers, but open nonetheless.

Part of their decision to reopen the Full Moon had rested on the choice to stay open twenty-four hours. It had been grueling at first, especially while they were trying to find a second cook to take night hours, but as the months passed things got a little easier.

The Full Moon Diner reopened to fanfare, and became the popular establishment it once was. They had followed the original blueprint of the diner to a t, only adding a larger dining area off to the side where the boutique had once stood. They followed through with the 40's theme from the music to the uniforms, and insisted that all service had to start and end with a smile (which was really hard for Derek, but luckily since he was in the back, no one saw him).

Cora wound up deciding to attend Beacon Hills Community, still unsure about what she wanted to major in. She tolerated the diner, but Derek knew she would probably try to find her way into the administrative work with Laura and Peter.

With August came a rush of people applying for jobs. Laura would bring them to the diner for their interviews, sitting at a table in the back of the dining area that had a good view of the counter. A lot of them turned out to be high school students just entering their senior year.

The first had been Scott, who used to work for the vet, Dr. Deaton, but since he wanted to eventually attend a culinary school, he decided to try for a line cook position. Laura had just grinned and shoved him right into the kitchen with a uniform because, "you could use a protege, Derek." And he was okay, a fast learner and easy going, even if his head could be a little in the clouds sometimes.

Even after his girlfriend _and _boyfriend came to work for them as well.

Isaac wound up working for them as a busser almost right after Scott started with them. He had been kicked out by his abusive father in the weeks before, and while he had a place to stay with Scott and his mother, he wanted to help out in whatever way he could. He was quiet and kind of flinchy, especially if he heard a glass break, but when he opened up he really opened up.

Allison, on the other hand, left Derek suspicious for the longest time. She was Kate's niece, but nowhere near as intense as her aunt. She swore up and down that her entire family was so sorry for what Kate had done to his, and that none of them were nearly as crazy. He was surprised that Laura even gave her a waitressing position, but she had mentioned something about discrimination and how Scott gave her a raving recommendation.

One hire, though, had caught Derek's eye in no time.

Laura had walked into the diner early in the afternoon, checking through her iPhone. She walked past the counter and came up to his window, "Hey, I have an interview with someone for the hosting position in like ten minutes, but I haven't eaten all day. Can you make me something?"

Derek sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes, "Fine, whatever."

"Service with a smile, Derek. Remember that." She laughed and walked over to her usual table.

Just for that, Derek took extra long with her food. He looked out the window to get Candi or Andrea to drop off the burger before they got off their shifts, but saw they were with customers and Allison had only just walked in with Scott and Isaac. He sighed and put on a smile as he walked to the door to do it himself.

He walked past the counter and made his way over to the table. He could see that Laura was smiling as she talked to the boy in front of her. Derek could only see him from behind, he was tall and lanky with dark brown hair, and that was it. Nothing special.

He stopped in front of Laura and the plate for her ham and egg sandwich in front of her, "Next time don't wait until three in the afternoon to eat."

Laura grinned up at him, "Thanks, little brother." She smiled at the guy in front of her, "This is my brother, Derek, he's the head cook here. Scott might have mentioned him, trust me he's not always as grumpy as he comes off in the kitchen. Derek, this is the young man who applied for the host position, Z…" she frowned and looked at the boy's application, struggling to pronounce it.

"Just call me Stiles, please." The boy laughed weakly, and that made Derek turn towards him to get a better look. He was pale, with more moles than Derek could be bothered to count, and amber eyes that seemed to be permanently set on smile-mode.

Derek felt his heart drop right into his stomach and fell head over heels in love.

"Right, this is Stiles Stilinski. He's Sheriff Stilinski's son." Laura picked up her sandwich and took a bite, "He was actually in Cora's class for a couple of years."

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, "We weren't close or anything, she pushed me over in the sandbox and tried to smother me in second grade. I got held back after third."

"I can promise you that won't happen again," she added a quick "hopefully" under her breath as she took another bite.

Derek swallowed and looked over at Stiles, "Can I make you something? On the house."

"Oh, uh, you sure?"

"Yeah…"

Stiles bit his lip and played with the fork on the table, before smiling a little, "Surprise me."

Derek quickly made his way to the kitchen, but not before hearing Laura crow "I think he likes you!"

* * *

Stiles did wind up becoming their host, and Derek's boyfriend not too long after that. They kept it on the downlow in the beginning, because while Stiles was 18 - he was still in high school and there was a five year difference between the two of them.

With Stiles, a number of other "misfits" from the high school seemed to find their way into jobs at the diner.

There was Erica Reyes, an epileptic girl from Stiles and Scott's chemistry class that was trying to reinvent herself, who Laura took a real shine to after a few weeks on the job and took her under her wing. Being around Derek, Allison, Stiles, and Scott seemed to boost her confidence and she wound up becoming one of their best waitresses.

Vernon Boyd came in a few days after because he was "sick and fucking tired" of working at the ice rink and felt like he would gladly take bussing tables and washing dishes over riding a zamboni. He worked fast and well, and didn't put up with anyone's bullshit - which really helped when he would pull a late night shift on Friday or Saturday and they needed to get a rowdy drunk out of the diner.

Lydia Martin came in a week after Boyd, dragging her boyfriend, Jackson, along with her. Neither of them really _needed_ to work, because the Martins and the Whittemores were two of the most well off families in town, but Lydia had set her mind on getting a waitressing job because "what college student _hasn't _done that at some point?" and when Lydia said "jump" Jackson had to say "how high?" no matter how often he denied it.

Jackson had been harder to work into a good job though, he couldn't cook and didn't seem to gel well with the customers when he tried hosting or waiting tables. Eventually he wound up bussing, all the while complaining about what slobs people were and how he would be out of there as soon as college started - all because of a lacrosse scholarship.

With Allison, Erica, and Lydia taking a lot of the waitressing duties in the afternoons and on the weekends, Cora took the opportunity to jump into the administrative work with Laura and Uncle Peter. And from there...things just seemed easier. The nine of them just fit together in the right ways, they became friends rather than co-workers and weren't too sick of each other to hang out after their shifts.

The years passed like days.

Scott went to culinary school and worked his way up to Derek's level. The line cooks seemed to prefer working with him, with his easy attitude and laid back air. He, Allison, and Isaac stayed together, moving into a cozy little house just down the block from Stiles and Derek. Allison continued to be one of their hardest workers, even through a slightly difficult pregnancy. Isaac could have moved up to a waiter position, but kept bussing so he could have more time to stay home with their son.

Jackson blew out his knee and wound up staying in Beacon Hills, splitting his time between his dad's law firm and the diner while he tried to figure out just exactly what he wanted to do now that lacrosse was out of the picture. Lydia earned two BAs and a Masters, all while working on multiple papers about unsolvable math problems but making no indication that she ever intended on leaving the Full Moon. The two of them kept with their on-off relationship, maintaining completely separate lives along with the one they shared together.

Erica and Boyd dated for a little while, but eventually decided they weren't meant to be. Erica was still Boyd's closest confidant, keeping all of his secrets and whispering inside jokes whenever they passed each other. Boyd started going to school at some point during his off hours, but refused to tell anyone but Erica what he was studying. He would usually just shrug and say, "not yet, but you'll know when I want you to".

And Stiles and Derek...they never strayed too far from each other. Even when everyone was sure that things were at their worst, they never broke. They married early into their relationship, almost as soon as same-sex marriage became legal in California again, they bought a house, had kids, and ran the ins-and-outs of the diner every day. The two of them fought like cats and dogs most of the time over the stupidest things, but hours later someone could find them laughing about it instead.

The nine of them became staples and it was a rare day when at least two or three of them weren't around to keep things running. They were the "pack" of the Full Moon Diner, a title embraced by workers and customers alike, even if it was met with a few eyerolls and heavy sighs from the exact same people they were talking about.

Because when all was said and done, they really were more than friends - they were a family, a true pack.

These are their stories.

* * *

Herp a derp a derp, this has been on my AO3 for a while, but since I haven't been home more than a combined 12 hours this week...

Don't judge me. I live on Long Island, where diners are a staple so this was inevitable.

This story is mostly to get the nitty gritty out, future oneshots should be a bit more...plotty.


End file.
